On a clear winter day when the sun hits at just the right angle, the historic Pittsford Cemetery on East Avenue in Pittsford seems an inviting destination. Today, a fresh dusting of snow becomes a quiet blanket surrounding the gleam of marble and granite gravestones dating back to 1842.

Audrey Johnson, President of the Board of Trustees of Pittsford Cemetery and Town Historian for Pittsford and Vicki Profitt, a member of the Board of Trustees of Historic Pittsford, know a lot about the Civil War era cemetery and those who rest there.

One of three historic cemeteries in Pittsford—Pittsford’s oldest is the Pioneer Cemetery on South Main Street in Pittsford which dates back to 1797—the Pittsford Cemetery is the final resting place for 80 Civil War soldiers, according to Vicki Profitt. Included among them is Major Harvey Light, the highest ranking officer buried there. His wife was a local resident. John Buckley Bacon also rests there, a local businessman, he owned the building in Pittsford Village where Rocky Greco’s and Breathe can be found today. Bacon married a descendant of the Sutherland family, owners of a large parcel of land in Pittsford.

There’s the gravesite of George C. Reed, son-in-law of Nathan Calhoun, one of the early town supervisors and a relative of landscape architect, Fletcher Steele.

“This is my favorite of the three cemeteries. So much of Pittsford’s history is buried here,” says Profitt. “Families are laid to rest in the place who’ve lived in this town for generations.”

Profitt started exploring the history of Pittsford Cemetery by researching Civil War soldiers. From there she studied cemetery burial records, then went online to sites like Fultonhistory.com and Ancestry.com to discover more about the personal lives of those buried there.

Audrey Johnson says the 29 acres that make up Pittsford Cemetery are not completely developed—surveying still needs to be completed. “Cemeteries are strictly regulated in New York State, but, there are still plots available for purchase.”

One of the more memorable sites, according to Johnson, and a parade stop each Memorial Day, is the Soldiers and Sailors plot. Another area of interest is the Civil War cannon at the top of the hill facing East Avenue. An American flag maintained by the American Legion Rayson-Miller Post 899 flies there.

“We’ve named all the roads in the cemetery so visitors can find their way around. At the corner of Veterans Road and at the top of a hill, a plot that is the resting place of the cemetery’s first president, Ira C. Bellows, can be seen. It dates back to 1842 and was one of the first burials at Pittsford Cemetery,” notes Johnson.

According to Johnson, a Confederate soldier is also buried at Pittsford Cemetery, John Thurmon. “Thurmon fought for Missouri, heard that railroad cars were being built in East Rochester and after the war, relocated here. There wasn’t a cemetery in East Rochester, so he was buried in Pittsford. Each Memorial Day, someone places a Confederate flag on his gravesite,” says Johnson.

The most notable person buried at the historic site, according to Johnson, is an aide to General Washington and the paymaster of the army, Timothy Barnard, who lived into his 90’s. Barnard was a bodyguard to Washington at Valley Forge and delivered pay to Washington’s soldiers.

Wandering through Pittsford Cemetery on a winter day can be surprisingly peaceful– a stroll and a glimpse into the lives of people we learn about through names and dates etched into gravestones, some over a hundred years ago, makes local history personal.

Johnson and Profitt host a tour of the cemetery each May. They have co-authored a pictorial history of Pittsford which will be published in June by Arcadia Publishing. Their book will be on sale this summer through Historic Pittsford and at Barnes and Noble.

Leave a Reply

moved to Pittsford as a teenager and attended Pittsford-Mendon High School. Her greatest passion is as a lover of and advocate for the arts and music. Donna attended Rhode Island School of Design and earned an MFA from R.I.T. She’s a free-lance art director, advertising photographer and copywriter. Her love of narrative and film has led her to direct and produce short films.

Donna developed her awareness of and concern for environmental issues after being
exposed to the chemicals in artist materials in art schools in the US and Canada which
made her ill for a time. Healthy today, she finds pleasure in nature, writing, and music.
She enjoys Pittsford for its picturesque locations, wildlife, and community involvement.

was born in Rochester, lived here for a while until his dad was transferred to Connecticut ("Thanks, Xerox."). Then a few years later they came back to Fairport ("Thanks again, Xerox."), but Bill went to Pittsford schools. He moved over to Pittsford in 1979. He worked a bunch of jobs, played in bands, went back to MCC and then U of R for a Bachelor's degree in the early 90's. Shortly after that, he moved to NYC with his wife, Laura, where he worked at Ogilvy & Mather and Christie's doing tech support. They moved out to Northern Virginia during the Internet boom, hoping to get rich quick, but missed that boat. They moved back to Pittsford in 2001, along with two boys. Bill still plays guitar with the Chinchillas, the Squeaky Chair Jazz band, and the Steve Greene Trio occasionally.

"Though all communities and areas get a certain reputation (deserved or not), there is a good quality of life here, and the bulk of the people I have met here and places I have been to reflect that," Bill says. "My reason for wanting to blog about the town is at least twofold -- to vent my views and continue with writing, but also to force myself to engage in the environment in which I live. Too many people complain there is nothing to do or see, but they never actually get out and look. I don't want to be like that."